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OLYMPIA — After allegations that Planned Parenthood has illegally profited from the sale of fetal tissue, the state Attorney General’s Office has found no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood in Washington state.

The review was prompted by a July letter from Republican state lawmakers urging Attorney General Bob Ferguson to investigate Planned Parenthood clinics in the state. The letter came after controversial undercover video of a national Planned Parenthood medical director eating lunch while discussing procedures and prices for delivering tissues from aborted fetuses to researchers.

Planned Parenthood officials have denied wrongdoing and said the video was heavily edited by abortion foes to mischaracterize the organization.

Lawmakers asked whether the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates sell fetal tissue, rather than simply recovering costs, and whether affiliates were performing late-term abortions, in which a fetus is partially delivered before being aborted.

Ferguson’s office in mid-November released a review that found no evidence to support allegations made in the videos, which were released by a group called the Center for Medical Progress.

Among other things, the review included an interview with the head of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, which has nine health centers in Eastern Washington. One of those health centers has an agreement that lets it donate fetal tissue to the Birth Defects Research Laboratory at University of Washington School of Medicine.

While the sale of fetal tissue is illegal, federal law allows Planned Parenthood to recoup costs associated with donations of fetal tissue for research.

“We found no basis to believe that Planned Parenthood is selling fetal tissue or profiting from fetal-tissue donations,” according to the review.

Additionally, the review found no indication that the late-term abortions described in the lawmakers’ letter — illegal under federal law — were being performed by Planned Parenthood in Washington state.

Republicans around the nation called for investigations after the videos — none of which were recorded in Washington state — were released. Some in Congress have discussed shutting down the government if federal funding for Planned Parenthood wasn’t blocked.

In a statement, Erik Houser, spokesman for Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, said the attorney general’s review “confirms what we’ve known all along: the extreme attacks by politicians against Planned Parenthood have absolutely no basis in reality, both here in the state and nationwide.”

Reviews by state officials in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania and South Dakota also have found no wrongdoing related to the allegations of illegally profiting off fetal tissue.

Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report. Joseph O'Sullivan: 360-236-8268 or josullivan@seattletimes.com.